AN ANIMAL lover was left with a £500 vet's bill after his pet cat was shot by a gunman.

The attack was the latest by a 'sadist' who is believed to have left several cats dead or mutilated.

The owner was left devastated when finding the cat fighting for life on the doorstep - one of its kidneys had been shot to pieces by someone with a high-powered air gun.

The cat was rushed to a vet's surgery where it underwent a major operation to repair the damage from the gun shot wound.

But the owner has been left with a hefty bill for the treatment.

Now he is pleading with people to keep their cats under lock and key, claiming their pets could be next on the hitlist.

Rumours are spreading that a feline-hating neighbour in the West Bank area is shooting on sight any cat which 'trespasses' in their garden.

One resident said: 'There are rumours going round that people are threatening to seriously injure the animals if they go on other people's land and do their business.

'It is unclear who these people are but its disgusting to think that they would go to such lengths and start shooting the animals.

'It is really expensive these days to get the treatment the animals need in these cases and it is leaving people heavily out of pocket.

'I was thinking about getting another cat from the refuge but there's no way I'll do that now as I'll be left with the bill when it gets shot.

'I think pet owners round here are going to have to keep their cats under lock and key while this sort of thing is going on.

'The thing is cats like to roam around but they do not realise they are putting themselves in danger.'

Before Christmas, a West Bank woman claimed a gang of youths targeted her two pet cats who mysteriously went missing from her garden - only months after her previous pet was dumped on her doorstep with pellet wounds to its spine. A third cat had been shot a year earlier.

She said: 'She was shot twice through the spine and left bleeding on my doorstep, I really hope my new cats have not gone through what she had to. She was in terrible pain and had to be put down.

'I cannot understand these people who get kicks out of firing at innocent little animals.'